Hello beautiful people.
Here I am again to teach you, to share together a song for the beautiful Sabah. Sabah is a Lebanese icon. She died this year. May she rest in peace. And for that, we will, we will share her famous song, Allo Allo Beirut.
Why is that? Because it’s very simple and because it has many verbs that you can learn, plus the names of the regions of Beirut regions, also that you can, um, that you can benefit from.
So let’s start with the title of the song, Allo Allo Beirut.
Allo Allo is the French, the French way to reply to the phone and it’s also our way, the Lebanese way. I think we got it from them. So Allo, Allo, we say Allo when we reply to the phone.
1. The Phone Call: “Give Me the Line”
Allo Allo Beirut, so she is calling Beirut. We know she’s abroad.
Allo Allo Beirut, min fadlak ya 3inayyeh.
So min fadlak, she’s talking to a guy because if she was talking to a woman, we would say min fadlik.
- Min fadlak means please, min fadlak, min fadlak, please, if you please, min fadlak.
- Ya 3inayyeh, 3inayyeh means my eyes. 3ayn means one eye, 3inayyeh or 3aynayyeh, two eyes.
- Min fadlak please my dear, min fadlak ya 3inayyeh. 3inayyeh means dear or Habibi. So when someone tells you ya 3youni (my eyes), it means a good thing, ya 3youni. Unless he is meaning, he’s meaning in an ironical way.
Min fadlak ya 3inayyeh, please dear. We don’t know yet what she is asking.
3teeni Beirut, 3teeni Beirut
She would say 3teeni Beirut.
- 3teeni means give me, give me Beirut. She’s on the phone.
Allo Allo, Allo Beirut, min fadlak ya 3inayyeh, 3teeni Beirut.
And she continues:
3ajjel, 3ajjel bil khatt chway, 3ajjel bil khatt chway.
- 3ajjel means hurry up.
- 3ajjel bil khatt, khatt means the line, the phone line. Hurry up and give me the line.
- 3ajjel bil khatt, shwey, a little bit.
So let’s repeat. Allo Allo, Allo Beirut, min faDlak ya 3inayyeh, 3teeni Beirut, 3ajjel bil khatt shway.
Okay, for, for now it’s clear, I think.
2. The Sanayeh Garden & The Lost Heart
She continues:
3teeni Beirut, wassilni 3al sanaye3.
- Wassilni means take me, take me 3al sanaye3.
- Sanaye3 is the, is the garden in Beirut and it’s parallel to the Hamra street, where you can have a nice sit with a cup of coffee and now it’s renovated and it’s beautiful, where kids can play also.
So she wants to get, she wants to go to the Sanaye3. And also when you go, “take me to Sanaye3,” it means the whole region when the garden is there. It’s not just the garden, it’s the region.
So, 3teeni Beirut, wassilni, take me—she’s also talking to a guy all this song because if she was a woman, wassleeni, wassleeni, but wassilni for a man, wassilni.
3teeni Beirut, wassilni 3al sanaye3.
I’ll check the cam one second. Okay.
Wassilni 3al sanaye3, she says:
albi, albi, hawnik/honik, hawnik, dayya3to.
albi honik dayya3to w ba3do dayi3.
I’ll translate.
- albi, my heart.
- honik, it means there in the sanaye3.
- albi in the sanaye3 is lost, dayya3to, I lost it, dayya3to, I lost it.
- W ba3do, ba3do means is still.
- Dayi3, and it’s still lost.
So she’s in love with someone or with the sanaye3. So, albi honik dayya3to w ba3do dayi3.
So here you have the past and the present.
- albi honik dayya3to, in the past I lost it.
- And it’s still, w ba3do, dayi3, it’s still for the present, dayi3. Okay.
Baddi iss’al 3an albi.
- Baddi, I want.
- Iss’al, to ask.
- Baddi iss’al 3an albi, I want to ask, I want to ask for my heart.
- Baddi, I want, baddi iss’al, to ask, 3an, I want to ask for, 3an, for, albi, my heart.
Yimkin honik mitkhabbi.
- Perhaps, yimkin.
- Honik, there, sanaye3, honik, there.
- Mitkhabbi, mitkhabbi means it is, um, it is… like, it’s hide. My heart is there hidden. It’s there hidden, my heart.
- So, yimkin, perhaps, honik, there, mitkhabbi, hidden.
And you can also say mkhabba, mkhabba or mitkhabbi, it’s hidden. It’s hidden, mitkhabbi or mkhabba.
Let’s Review the First Paragraph:
Allo Allo Beirut, min fadlak ya 3inayyeh, 3teeni Beirut, 3ajjel bil khatt shway.
3teeni Beirut, take me, wassilni 3al sanaye3, is the name of the region.
albi honik dayya3to w ba3do, and it’s still, w ba3do, dayi3, it’s still lost.
Baddi iss’al 3an albi, I want to ask, baddi, I want, iss’al, to ask for my heart.
Yimkin, perhaps, honik, there, mitkhabbi, hidden.
First part. Okay, second part.
3. The Radio Station (El Iza3a)
So I will tell you that I, I didn’t do all the song and even in, in between the things I’m teaching you, I’ve, I’ve missed stuff because I didn’t hear it well or because I thought, uh, there’s things more important for you and in more direct.
She continues and says:
Min el sanaye3 wassilni 3al iza3a.
- Min el sanaye3, min, from, sanaye3, min el sanaye3, from the sanaye3, take me, wassilni.
- Take me to the iza3a means radio, radio, iza3a. And in fusHa it’s iza3a, iza3a. So wassilni 3al iza3a.
And what she will do in the radio? She will say:
Baddi ghanni.
- I want to sing, baddi ghanni, ghanni means sing. I want to sing, baddi ghanni.
- So in the song she will say ghanni, but in the common we will say baddi ghanni, not ghanni.
Baddi ghanni, waHyatak 3al samma3a.
- Baddi ghanni, I want to sing.
- WaHyatak means when we say waHyatak, waHyatak or waHyatik, it means I promise you, I promise you. “WaHyatak, I will go to Germany.” I swear I’m going to Germany, okay?
- So, waHyatak 3al samma3a.
- Baddi ghanni, I want to sing, waHyatak, I promise you.
- 3al samma3a, means on the… Samma3a means usually Samma3a means the, like the telephone, but she means on the microphone, I guess.
Okay. So I erased stuff. Let’s continue.
4. A Ride Through Beirut’s Regions
Khedni mishwar.
- Take me, khedni.
- Mishwar means a ride, khedni mishwar.
3al Rawche, 3al Manara.
- 3al Rawche w 3al Manara means also the names of the region.
- The Rawche where’s the famous, uh, what do we say? Uh, I don’t know, like the big stone in the, in the water.
- 3al Rawche, 3al Manara, Manara is also the way. And people, uh, usually do sports, they sit, we see the beach because there is the beach. So it’s in Beirut, the beach part. 3al Rawche w 3al Manara.
Khedni mishwar 3al Rawche 3al Manara.
Baddi Beirut Hakeeha Hara w Hara.
- Baddi Beirut, I want, okay, so it’s a bit complicated. Baddi Beirut Hakeeha, it means, baddi, I want, Beirut to tell her.
- So in another way it will be, baddi Haki Beirut, I want to talk to Beirut.
- Baddi Beirut Hakeeha, she flipped the verb. So usually it’s baddi Haki Beirut, she said baddi Beirut Hakeeha. You know, because it’s a song.
- Baddi Beirut Hakeeha, Hara w Hara, region by region. Hara means a region, okay? A region, and it’s a small region usually. Hara w Hara.
Okay. She continues also with the names.
Min Bab Idriss lal Hamra.
- Bab Idriss is also a place.
- Min Bab Idriss lal Hamra, you know the famous Hamra, and you can check my video about Hamra.
Furn el Chebbak lal Dora.
- Furn el Chebbak also it’s in Beirut, Dora also it’s a region.
So here you have four names of four regions. Bab Idriss, Hamra, Furn el Chebbak, Dora.
Min Bab Idriss lal Hamra, Furn el Chebbak lal Dora.
W ma tarrajje3ni.
- W ma tarrajje3ni, she’s calling, she’s talking to the person on the phone.
- Ma tarrajje3ni, don’t take me back, don’t take me back.
Ta zour, ta zour.
- It means because I want to visit. Zour means visit.
- When you are going to your friend’s house for a visit, you’re going to a friend’s house for a ziyara, visit means ziyara.
- Here, ma tarrajje3ni, don’t take me back, ta zour, mean, means because I want, zour, to visit, el Ashrafieh.
El Ashrafieh.
- El Ashrafieh, also I have a video about Ashrafieh that you can check. It’s also the name of the region.
W ma tarrajje3ni, don’t take me back unless I visit Ashrafieh.
Okay. I’m done because the rest is a bit complicated. Uh, I hope you enjoyed the lesson. Okay, I will see you soon. Don’t forget we have Skype lessons if you want to practice more more, one on one live Skype lessons. Thank you for your comments. I want to tell you there’s always a person telling me, “Please put the subtitles.” In every video I put the subtitles. You just have to click, uh, the annotation on, on where’s the video, the bar, the bar, taHt el video. Okay. I will see you soon. Thank you. Enjoy Lebanon if you’re here. Bye.
Song Vocabulary & Phrases
| Lebanese Phrase | Transliteration | English Meaning |
| ألو | Allo | Hello (on the phone) |
| من فضلك | Min fadlak | Please (to a male) |
| يا عينيي | Ya 3inayyeh | My dear (Lit: my eyes) |
| عطيني | 3teeni | Give me |
| عجل بالخط | 3ajjel bil khat | Hurry up with the line |
| وصلني | wassilni | Take me / Give me a lift to |
| ضيعته | dayya3to | I lost it |
| بعده ضايع | Ba3do dayi3 | It is still lost |
| متخبي | Mitkhabbi | Hidden |
| إذاعة | Iza3a | Radio / Radio station |
| وحياتك | WaHyatak | I swear / I promise you |
| مشوار | Mishwar | A ride / An outing |
| حارة | Hara | Neighborhood / Quarter |
| ما ترجعني | Ma tarrajje3ni | Don’t take me back / Don’t return me |
| تا زور | Ta zour | So I can visit / Until I visit |
Regions of Beirut Mentioned
| Region Name | Transliteration | Notes |
| الصنايع | sanaye3 | Famous for the sanayeh Garden (Rene Moawad Garden) |
| الروشة | Rawche | The Corniche, famous for the Pigeon Rocks |
| المنارة | Manara | The Lighthouse area / Beachfront |
| باب إدريس | Bab Idriss | Historical commercial district downtown |
| الحمرا | Hamra | Famous street and commercial hub |
| فرن الشباك | Furn el Chebbak | A well-known residential/commercial district |
| الدورة | Dora | A major transport hub and commercial area |
| الأشرفية | Ashrafieh | One of the oldest and most famous districts |
